Miracles reported on set of Bible mini-series

The hit miniseries The Bible is setting records on cable television for the History Channel, with as many as 13 million viewers tuning in for the blockbuster. But certain aspects of the filming were even more remarkable, as producer Mark Burnett reports highly unusual occurrences behind-the-scenes that he labels miracles. The epic five-part series, which runs through Easter, is the most-watched entertainment programme on cable television, according to ABC’s Good Morning America. The making of the TV behemoth was filled with strange happenings that Producer Mark Burnett can’t quite explain. For example when the actor who portrays Jesus told Nicodemus ‘The Holy Spirit is like the wind,’ a strong rushing wind that felt like the exhaust behind a 747 almost blew the set over and sustained for 20 seconds, Burnett told Entertainment Weekly. ‘Everyone just looked at everyone like, ‘What just happened?’ Burnett said.

Praise:

God for the power of the wind of the Holy Spirit that blows where it will. (Jn.3:8)

God among the clubbers

Every year thousands of young people head out to the sunny coasts of Ibiza (Balearic Islands, Spain) for the super clubs, cheap booze and sex. Lucy Hardy from the UK has also spent her last couple of summers out on the main strip in Ibiza, but she is not your average holiday party animal. She works with Third Space Ministries, an organization that shares God’s love in places such as night clubs, gyms and coffee shops. Ibiza is the clubbing capital of Europe. In the centre of San Antonio, the main clubbing strip, Christians established a place of prayer and outreach. They’re on duty every evening until the early hours of the morning. ‘One group will go out on to the streets and one group will stay in the prayer room,’ Lucy explains. ‘We walk around in pairs down the main clubbing strip, praying: God, who specifically do you want us to go to?’ This regularly leads to amazing encounters.

Praise:

God for all those who are called to reach out to the clubbers in Ibiza. (Ps.18:16)

Archbishop of Canterbury attacks Government welfare reforms

In his most significant political intervention since taking office, the Most Rev Justin Welby has warned that ‘children and families will pay the price’ if plans to change the benefits system go ahead in their current form. He and the Archbishop of York have backed a letter to The Sunday Telegraph written by 43 bishops who say the benefits cuts will have a ‘deeply disproportionate’ effect on children. The move will come as a blow to Iain Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, who is attempting to steer the reforms through Parliament. He has said the Welfare Benefits Up-rating Bill, which will cap benefit rises at 1 per cent a year until 2016, is needed to help get spending ‘back under control’ and create a fairer deal for taxpayers. However, Mr Welby said the legislation will remove the protection given to families against the rising cost of living and could push 200,000 children into poverty.

Pray:

that the Government will ensure the most vulnerable in our society will be protected from severe hardship. (Ps.82:3)

Rise in number of young priests welcomed

Lichfield Diocese's director of ordinands the Rev David Newsome, is upbeat about the increase in young people training for the priesthood. The number of young people accepted for training for Church of England ministry reached a 20 year high last year, latest figures show. Last year, 112 people below the age of 30 were accepted. Rev Newsome said the figures reflected a ‘full recognition’ in the Church that ministers need to reflect the diversity of the Body of Christ. He said the increase in young ordinands reflects a break in traditional church wisdom that favoured those with a university degree and ‘life experience’. ‘Young clergy have their own experience to bring, which will be different to older clergy, but we will need both,’ he said. ‘The Church desperately needs the kind of passion and commitment that younger candidates can bring. It's a very exciting and extraordinary thing that young people are wanting to commit themselves to the Church in uncertain times.’

Pray:

for all new ordinands and that the Lord will continue to call many more to His ministry. (Ac.6:4)

Faith in Conflict strengthens churches' reconciliation commitment

The Faith in Conflict conference, which brought together representatives from across the country last week, is a 'marker for the future of the Church', participants in the event have said. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, spoke at the final plenary session of the ecumenical gathering which explored how conflict is handled across the churches. The conference sessions over the three days, at Coventry Cathedral, worked towards understanding the challenges that face the Christian church, gaining a renewed vision in viewing conflict differently and exploring options for intervention. Speaking about Faith in Conflict, the Archbishop said: ‘This conference [has been] some years in the making. I have always been hopeful that it would mark a step for the Church of England’s capacity when dealing with conflict. In fact, it is proving to be much more significant than that, setting a clear and radical path for our opportunity to be peacemakers and confidence builders in our society.’

Pray:

for the Church to become leaders in conflict resolution and reconciliation. (2Co.5:18)

Primary teacher job threat over gay marriage storybook

A primary school teacher faced disciplinary action because she didn’t want to read to her class from a storybook about gay penguins. The teacher, who has not been named, works in a school in a London Borough and her case has been told to a committee of MPs looking at the gay marriage Bill. Another teacher, from Scotland, says he was pressurised to promote gay marriage against his will and it contributed to a breakdown. The two teachers have remained anonymous because they fear for their careers, but have permitted a lawyer to outline their cases to Parliament. Top lawyers have warned the Government that its plans to redefine marriage could mean Christian teachers face the sack if they refuse to endorse gay marriage in the classroom. In January, a senior source in the Education Department admitted that the Government may be powerless to stop this happening.

Pray:

for the protection of those who wish to abstain from the gay agenda in their workplaces. (Dt.31.6)

Police corruption in Wales

No police officer in Wales has been prosecuted for police corruption in the last four years despite scores of complaints .In Freedom of Information responses to questions from Plaid Cymru the four Welsh police forces disclosed none of their officers ended up in court after internal inquiries found them culpable. While three of the forces went as far as disciplining officers who had allegations upheld against them, Dyfed-Powys Police failed to take any action against officers.’ Between April 2008 and December of last year they recorded 80 allegations of improper disclosure, 36 allegations of corrupt practice and 141 allegations of irregularity in evidence/perjury. Only 16 were upheld. In answer to the question about what disciplinary action or criminal prosecutions have resulted from the upheld allegations, the force replied, ‘I can confirm that there is no information held by Dyfed-Powys Police. This is as a result of the fact that none of the ‘upheld’ allegations resulted in disciplinary action or criminal prosecutions.’

Pray:

that the Police would not see themselves as above the law, may they see fit to discipline officers found guilty of wrongdoing, and may all that is hidden be revealed. (Is.5:1)

53% of children don’t know the meaning of Easter

If an alien happened to land its UFO in the car park of your local Tesco sometime in the next few weeks and popped in for something to eat, would it have any idea if it was asked, why the shelves were stacked high with chocolate eggs? This is obviously a ridiculous scenario, but how about if you asked the same question to any children who happened to be in the supermarket being dragged round by their parents? Would they be able to tell you the answer? Last year Travelodge ran a survey to find this out. It found that 53% of the children surveyed didn’t know the meaning of Easter and one-quarter thought that it is about celebrating the Easter bunny’s birthday. Easter like most other annual festivals has turned into an excuse for the retailers to sell as much as they can to us with little interest in the meaning behind it. (See Prayer Alert 10-2013)

Pray:

that the gospel message will be creatively adopted to market Easter eggs, etc. (Ps.145:18)

Trafalgar Square demonstration

You may remember that in January around a million people – including many thousands of students and young people – demonstrated on the streets of Paris against their government's proposals to redefine traditional marriage to include same sex couples. Hundreds of the demonstrators were UK-based French residents who boarded the Eurostar to Paris to join their compatriots. What is less well known is that on the same day a further 600 French residents refrained from travelling to Paris but demonstrated instead outside the French Embassy in west London. These UK-based French protesters are now organising another London demonstration, but this time in Trafalgar Square. As before, they are planning this to take place on the same day as the next Paris demonstration, Sunday 24th March, at which 2 million protesters are expected to march along the Champs-Elysees!

Pray:

that a strong message will be sent to the French and British Governments that they must not redefine marriage. (Heb.13:4)

France: Islamists suspected of planning attack

Three suspected Islamist militants arrested in southern France appeared to be planning an attack in the days ahead, the Paris prosecutor said on Monday, the anniversary of an a-Qaeda-inspired shooting that rocked France. Police found weapons and explosives at the home of one of the suspects in the town of Marignane, near Marseille, and intercepted communications between the men suggested they were close to going into action, prosecutor Francois Molins said. The three men, who were taken in for questioning last week with a fourth man who was later released, were to be placed under formal investigation later on Monday. ‘The investigation showed we were faced with a veritable laboratory for making improvised explosive devices and, even if we had no evidence of a precise plan, the messages exchanged by the participants suggested the timetable could be accelerated,’ Molins told reporters.

Pray:

that all those with radical militant ideas will be confounded. (Job.6:23)

EU set to vote on internet crackdown

The European Parliament is preparing to vote on a proposal to ban all forms of pornography. Embedded under Article 17 of the report is a clause that, if eventually made into law, would effectively ban pornography across all types of media, including the Internet, in Europe. They also described the inclusion of the article as an 'unacceptable political invasion of people’s bedrooms'. Dutch MEP Kartika Liotard, introduced the report which recommended a 'ban on all forms of pornography in the media,' including what it refers to as 'the digital field.' But the report does not distinguish between different types of pornography, or indeed what media the bill refers to. However, it is expected that MEPs will amend the bill to clarify that the clause refers to pornography in the context of advertising.

Pray:

for those responsible for making laws that they will be guided by the good things in their consciences. (Mt.15:19)

NIGERIA: 5 campaigns supporting Nigeria

1) Fighting oil theft: ‘Stop the theft’ is a campaign to raise awareness of the scale and consequences of illegal oil theft in the Niger Delta and to work with others to propose/advocate for long term and tangible solutions. 2) Crowd funding: ‘Think of 234Give’ as a tunnel. On one end are all those who want to help the country. On the other end are all those who need help. It is the connection linking donors and fundraisers with deserving charities and needy projects. 3) Diaspora voting: An initiative to secure a vote for each Nigerian in the Diaspora enabling Nigerians to build Nigeria together. 4) Promoting online education: ‘GAPS’ (Grow, Advance, Produce, Succeed) Academy aims to empower everyone to learn, share and bridge the gaps in their knowledge and experience. 5) Demystifying government finance: ‘BudgIT’ aims to retell the Nigerian budget and public data in a finer detail across every literacy span to stimulate citizen interests and discussions towards better governance.

Pray:

that these start-up initiatives would achieve their aims and may God raise up more innovative agencies to support Nigeria back on to her feet. (Ps.121:1-2)

Kenya: Post elections

In 2007 Kenya’s disputed presidential election descended into violence in which more than 1,000 people were killed. In 2013 strongholds of defeated presidential candidate Raila Odinga are currently peaceful, hopefully reflecting a desire by Kenyans to avoid a repeat of the bloodshed. However, Odinga has refused to concede the election to rival Uhuru Kenyatta and said he would challenge the result in the courts. On Sunday he urged his supporters to refrain from the violence that could once more convulse Kenya. A smooth handover of power this time around is seen as critical to restoring Kenya's reputation as a stable democracy and safe investment destination - an image that was shattered by the mayhem that followed the last election. Other nations have a diplomatic dilemma dealing with a president who is indicted for crimes against humanity, but will be an ally in the fight against militant Islam in the Horn of Africa.

Pray:

that the nation would unite in a swift return to normality after the back-to-back election coverage and appeals by presenters for Kenyans to accept the outcome calmly. (Zec.9:16-17)

Syria: More Christian kidnapping

Syrian Christians continue to request our prayers for their country. They note that, in recent months, there have been increasing numbers of attacks on Christians that seem to be religiously motivated. One example occurred on 9th February when two priests, Michel Kayyal (Armenian Catholic) and Maher Mahfouz (Greek Orthodox), were kidnapped when travelling by public bus between Damascus and Aleppo. The bus was stopped by armed men belonging to one of the groups fighting the government. The gunmen checked the identity documents of all passengers and only the two priests were taken. A Salesian priest travelling with them was not kidnapped. Negotiations for their release are on-going. Other kidnappings have been reported, especially in al-Hasakah Province where some Christians have demonstrated publicly to protest against this alarming new trend. There have been a number of assaults on church buildings and other Christian property. Such attacks are often interpreted as warnings or threats to the Christian communities.

Pray:

that the violence in Syria will cease, and peace and justice will be established for all Syrians; those who have been kidnapped will be released unharmed. (Ps.7:9)

Afghanistan: Transition

A Christian in Afghanistan writes, ‘As the coalition forces prepare to withdraw by the end of next year, the local army and police are being trained to take full responsibility for the security of their country. There are many challenges to be overcome, including a lack of basic education for many of the local soldiers and police and a culture of corruption. Also, many in positions of authority lack the leadership skills needed to forge an effective force. The coalition soldiers work closely with their local counterparts to instil technical knowledge and tactical and strategic planning skills. In this process coalition and local soldiers spend many hours together. Pray for the Christians in the coalition to be a strong witness for Christ. A lack of security and rampant corruption have caused many people to distrust the government and thus weakened its authority. Many question whether the central government is prepared to take full responsibility and leadership of the country.’

Pray:

that God will place righteous people in positions of authority in the government and the people of the land will learn to trust and support those who are protecting them. (Is.1:26)

Maldives: Teen faces 100 lashes

A 15-year-old girl has been sentenced to eight months of house arrest and 100 lashes in the Maldives. Many in the international community are concerned about the use of Sharia law to inflict such punishment, in this case against a minor. While the girl is Muslim, there could also be troubling implications for anyone who secretly converts to Christianity, an act that is forbidden in the Maldives. Hilary Whiteman of CNN reports that the girl confessed during a court hearing to charges of fornication, having engaged in consensual premarital sex. She is also the alleged victim of sexual abuse by her stepfather, an allegation legally unrelated to her case. She has been given the choice of receiving the lashings now or it can be postponed until she turns 18. CNN was told that though the government considered the teenager to be a victim who should not be flogged, it was unable to intervene in the judicial process.

Pray:

for the girl and for a more reasonable justice system, pray also for protection for the handful of believers in the Maldives living in fear of the government, their families and communities. (Ps.25:12)

Pakistan: 200 Christian homes burnt to the ground

In what has become disturbingly common practice in Pakistan, registering the usual low interest from the international media, once again Pakistan's Christians have been subjected to a hate-fuelled mob attack, hell-bent in their desire to make life unbearable for what little remains of Christ's followers in the region, reports Dignitatis Humanae Institute. Using the well-worn pretext of an alleged breach of the Pakistan's blasphemy law, an armed mob of local Islamists set upon the Christian neighbourhood within Lahore, reportedly attacking at least 200 Christian homes, a collection of shops and two churches in arson attacks. Whether there have been any casualties is yet to be determined. Such wanton destruction now means a large number of Christian families have been displaced, impoverished, and made homeless for nothing they have done personally, but for the hate held against their faith by certain Muslim groups in Pakistan.

Pray:

for God’s mercy and protection for His people as they face such persecution.

STOP PRESS: Pope Francis is an 'inspired choice'

Catholic leaders in the UK have spoken of their delight over the election of Pope Francis. Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor praised the selection of a ‘humble, very simple and very intelligent man,’ and said the Church was ‘very blessed. Above all, I think he is a holy man, a spiritual man and I think he will bring a new kind of style to the Catholic Church,’ the Cardinal told the BBC. He noted the significance of the Pope's choice of the name Francis, known as a man of the poor. Cardinal Murphy-O'Connor said ‘the simplicity of Pope Francis’ life would be a great example to people. For many people, this may be a surprise selection. For me, it was an inspired choice and I am very, very happy not only for the Catholic Church but for the world,’ he said.

Pray:

that Pope Francis will be inspired by the Holy Spirit as he takes on the role as leader of the world-wide catholic Church.